I just got back from a week in Italy celebrating my brother McKenzie and his life. It was a fantastic trip; we had a great time. It actually was better than I expected it to go, and there are a few highlights.
Even though it’s been six years, it was strangely really cathartic and emotionally satisfying doing this for McKenzie. At this point, I needed it, but didn’t know that I needed it.
Cruising around Rome and Florence was fantastic. I’ve now been to Rome a few times and feel like I really know it pretty well. Nothing like McKenzie, of course, but I’ve been to the sites more than a few times, and they’re getting more and more familiar. This time it allowed me to go a little bit deeper. For instance, I actually learned and remember what the statues are on the Trevi Fountain and why they are there.
Florence is a really cool town. I was there ten years ago and don’t remember much. This time I really got a feel for it. It’s much smaller than I had remembered. You can walk from one end to the other in about fifteen minutes, and it was cool to get to know it and walk all over it.
The one day, Friday, that we set out to have as the memorial was really cool. We went to his dig site and we went to the museum associated with it and ate out there in Montelupo. Just having a McKenzie day was really great.
I was really grateful that some of the extended friends and family made the trip. Matt Lewis had a herculean task of getting there and back in a limited amount of time because he’s got two kids under the age of eighteen. Tildy brought her kids (Oliver and Malcolm) out. Paul and Dana made the effort. It was really wonderful of them.
